As an update of my reporting concerning the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s controversial policy of seeking to recover attorneys’ fees in connection with district court review of denials of trademark and patent applications, the Supreme Court today granted the petition for certiorari in Iancu v. Nantkwest and agreed...
Recent developments in the copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Alfonso Ribeiro, known for playing Carlton on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, against video game maker Epic Games confirm the questions raised in my prior post as to whether Ribeiro could register a copyright in the Carlton dance and bring a...
Over the last year, many states and localities have enacted new laws responding to the #MeToo movement, requiring employers to increase their vigilance in preventing and addressing sexual harassment in the workplace. For example, as of October 9, 2018, all New York State employers with even just one employee are...
At the Getting Real '18 conference last September, RPJ Partner Nicole Page moderated a panel entitled "After #MeToo," which was then profiled in Suz Curtis's article, "Slouching Towards Parity: Panelists Discuss Filmmaking in the #MeToo Era." Given recent changes to New York laws and the creation of The Gender-Based Anti-Harassment Unit...
The recent filing of a federal copyright infringement lawsuit by Alfonso Ribeiro—“Carlton” on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and YouTube celebrity, famous for "the Carlton,” his arm-swinging movements to the Tom Jones diddy "It’s Not Unusual"—raises the question of whether and to what extent choreographed dance moves can by copyrighted...
In a rare, but limited, win for employees on the issue of arbitration of employment disputes, a unanimous Supreme Court today ruled in New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira that trucking company New Prime Inc. cannot compel arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) in a class action alleging failure to...
As of December 31, 2018, the minimum wage has increased for employers throughout New York State as follows: Employer Type Minimum Wage New York City Employers (11 or more employees) $15.00 Fast Food Establishments* Located in New York City $15.00 New York City Employers (10 or less employees) $13.50 Fast...
As I reported previously, following the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that the Lanham Act’s statutory bar to registration of “disparaging” trademarks ran afoul of the First Amendment, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit struck down a companion portion of the federal trademark law that precluded registration...
As an update of my report from last month on the circuit split on the issue of the recovery of the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s attorneys’ fees in connection with district court review of denials of trademark and patent applications, the PTO Director filed a petition for certiorari...
Ringing in the New Year, both New York and Connecticut have important new employment laws that took effect as of January 1, 2019. In Connecticut, under Connecticut's Pay Equity Law, as of January 1, 2019 employers (and third parties acting on behalf of employers) may not ask an employee or job...